Fields of Elysium

By: A.B. Whelan

Narrated by: A-Shay Walker

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Can love mend a heart full of hatred?

Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens.

On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers.

While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly’s life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden.

Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.

Would you fight to be with the one you truly love? What cost would you be willing to sacrifice for that love?

Fields of Elysium is a suspenseful romantic tale full of forbidden secrets, danger, deception, and the never-ending fight for true love.

©2013 Andrea Bizderi (P)2019 Andrea Bizderi

Good young teen story

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I’m curious how this series will play out. I enjoy the world that has been created and the interactions between the characters. It’s a mostly believable storyline, complete with teenagers throwing rules out the window. There was one part in which someone has a convenient capability surface. This was outside the flow of the story for me, and made things less believable, but I suppose a resolution was needed and this was a convenient fix. This is an easy listen.
The publisher’s summary gives a good overview so I won’t summarize.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( A-Shay Walker ) and I would listen to another. She has a nice voice and narrates the characters clearly. Her style is a bit more “reading” than acting, but does not detract from the book.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Now I am hooked.

I am not going to give up on either the writing or the narration.
I was given this audiobook to review and wish I could give it 5 stars, but I just can’t. The author has other books and this is a new series for her and I think it will be a good one. Her premise is a really good one. Her teen angst is excellent. Her heroine is believably inconsistent in her feelings. I expected to feel more bewilderment from her initially and that is my single knock against the writing. So it would almost be a 5 star story.
The narration, however, was stilted. It was read and not acted. The narrators voice is believably young and I liked that. Her male voices were good and some of the female friends were as well. However, just as I was getting into the story, there would be a phrase or two that was so clearly being read that I got kicked out again. Given the voices and youthful sound I think this narrator will be very good with more experience. 3 stars to her.
I really want this series to do well.

Fields of Elysium

Two people from different worlds, drawn together. Molly has found the gateway to Arkana, where she meets Victor. She is immediately drawn to him, but it’s forbidden for humans to be in Arkana. Is true love worth the sacrifices?

A.B. Whelan has created a wonderful world. One that I’d love to hear more about.

A-Shay Walker’s narration was well done.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Being the new girl

Molly is new to town. She's got a new school, new secret portal to a distant land, and new friends.

A.B. Whelan explores what it's like being a young woman as she comes to terms with all the new things that come from growing up and finding where you fit.

A-Shay Walker delivers a good narration doing a great job as being Molly while she discovers all the new places she can go as well as all the new feelings she can experience.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Fields of Elysium

This was a nice story with an intriguing concept. Molly, our MC, stumbles across a wormhole that takes her to another planet where she discovers "aliens" that are just like humans. The journey through her discovery of the other world and falling in love there while also trying to navigate a new high school, a new state, and overbearing parents makes for a story interesting enough that I completed it in less than 24 hours. There are more books to come in this series, but this one ends with a happily ever after.... at least for now. I enjoyed the story enough that when the next comes out I will definitely be listening to it as well. The narration was pretty good, maybe just a little stiff at times, but nothing that takes away from the story experience. It's a good book, and worth your time! I received a free copy of this book for review purposes and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Imaginative

I enjoyed the main character. The reader really brought her to life. I wished the story would have been fleshed out a bit more. Sometimes it seemed like we rushed too quickly into the next scene or the relationship developed too quickly, (but perhaps that was lost in editing)

Experience to be had.

As always, I have to state that this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
I always like to state that this does not impact my review or my opinion of the book. My reviews are honest and my own opinion of the story, performance, and overall thoughts on the book.


It was good, well written. This is the first book in the series. This book is classified as a YA romantic fantasy. It is pretty long at about 424 pages. There isn't a cliffhanger in this book which I am glad for.

I liked the story, and the descriptions of everything were decent. But I was expecting more of a climax. It seemed too simple and easily handled. There wasn't enough conflict. This upset me because everything else was done so well. The dialogue was good, the world-building was good and the love story was good. I was excited to see how they were gonna deal with the climax. Then...it fell flat.

Molly was an alright character. She was a little too needy for my tastes. She was obsessed with the new world but was able to keep it in check for most of the book. She did have an amazing capacity for bravery when the situation called for it. She was very friendly and outgoing and never really had a bad thing to say about anyone.

Victor is the strong silent type. He allows hatred to rule his heart and prejudice to skew his view of the strange Molly. He is always careful and cautious with his feelings and looks out for his friends faithfully. He may be broody but Victor sure knows how to romance his woman. I liked his character better.

Weston is the jovial fun time guy with the rich dad who everyone knows and loves. Quite typical if you ask me. He likes Molly from the get-go but is no match for Victor.

Favorite quotes:

"You have no idea how frustrating my life is," he said quietly. "Every time I let you go, you take a part of me with you." "Then don't let me go."

a solid listen

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, this was a decent story with good world building and interesting characters, but I was not a fan of the narration. It felt more like the narrator was just reading the book with a bit of inflection, rather than voice acting the story to make it more engaging and immersive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she did a bad job. The audio quality was good and she has a pleasant, and very young sounding, voice that is easy to listen to. I think I have been spoiled by other narrators (Andrea Parsneau, Annie Ellicott, Anneliese Rennie, etc.) that really do a phenomenal job in bringing stories to life.

Solid Portal Fantasy

Life is never easy as the new girl, and for Molly, this is as true of a statement as any. After becoming an outcast in her new town, she goes for a walk and discovers a secret portal leading to another world. She is fascinated and shellshocked, even more so when she discovers that she fits in better on the other side…even though it is illegal for her to be there. Swept up in her feelings for a boy named Victor, she throws caution to the wind and continues to slip into the portal.

Very wonderful worldbuilding in this story, and the teen angst was definitely on par. Molly as a whole, however, I felt could’ve used a bit more character development. She seemed a bit flat to me, but that might be because she was so smitten which in that case makes her as real of a teenager as any.

There are some wonderful descriptions in this book, and it definitely takes the reader on a journey.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

We really enjoyed this book.

An interesting and unique idea. The story is well written and kept our interest. We are curious to see where book two takes the characters. We would recommend this book.

The narration was good.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.